Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Lucaya and her now husband Matthew are Active Duty service members serving a two-year
tour in South Korea. They are an amazing couple and were so much fun to work with.

When David was finished his work and we sent the final photos of their rings, Lucaya wrote, "We are speechless. I had seen
some remarkable rings on your website but nothing really prepared me to see
something that we brainstormed together with little bits of
taped-up-paper, (I kid you not, we made little paper rings and drew on the
inlays with pens at different widths and options) ...to what we see now!
These rings are absolutely stunning, I cannot congratulate you enough for an
excellent job!"

After their wedding and honeymoon, another wonderful letter and some great pics!! They wrote: "The rings are just perfect!
We could not believe how light they are! It is stunning that so much work
and craftsmanship can fit into something so TINY!!! David is an absolute artist! Thank you so so so so so so so much! We
have returned to stressful Korea now, sun-burnt and blissfully happy after an AMAZING
honeymoon along Thailand's glowingly beautiful shores.

Due to some army emergencies, we had to
get married March 26th instead of April 1st as we had hoped, so we quickly went
to the embassy and did the scavenger hunt that was Korean wedding paperwork and
then presented the rings to each other in a Thai restaurant, (we figured it was
appropriate), situated on a lock. We had talked for a year of placing
locks around the world as we traveled, and our first was to be on Seoul Tower,
where we had our first date, on the day of our wedding. Well, we had to wait
until the day of our honeymoon, (April 1st) to actually place the lock, which
we did on our way to the airport, that was where we said our vows to each
other.

Once in Thailand, we took some photos of the rings up against
age-old mangrove trees, nestled within the prayer flowers that encompass the
trunk of the tree

and more photos with the rings placed along the weathered wood of a traditional Thai
longboat at sunset.

And finally, with a very heavy heart
we had to leave...from Seoul to Taipei to Bangkok to Krabi to Ko Phi Phi Don to
Ao Luk to Ao Nang, back to Bangkok, then on to Ho Chi Minh City and finally
back to Seoul. What a wonderful trip and thank you so much for giving us
such a beautiful part of it!"

David and I are so grateful to Matt and Lucaya ~ thanks for being a couple of bright lights in our days. Perhaps one year we'll see you two and one of those locks on a gate or fence out here on these 50 acres. Much Love to you both ~ now and always.

Angel and Michael live, work and play in California.She's a fiber-optics engineer. He's a PhD candidate studying biomedical sciences. They have a couple of cats and they love to surf and play guitar together. (Mike and Angel that is ... not so much the cats.)

David and I had such a great time working this lovely young couple.

They were happily wed this April in the Santa Cruz Mountains with their custom designed Touch Wood Rings.

After their wedding they sent us these photos taken by their wedding photographer Ruka Micheletti And they wrote ... "Here are our wedding rings!
They turned out exactly as we imagined them to be. Thank you for the great
experience we had designing these rings and watching them come to life. They're absolutely beautiful. Thank you so
much"

Mike and Angel's Touch Wood Rings are African Blackwood with Willow interiors and inlays of jade and malachite bordered by Purpleheart wood.

Thanks again to wedding photographer; Ruka Micheletti for permission to use her photos of Mike and Angels celebration. And tremendous thanks to Angel and Mike.

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

In Joseph's first email he gave us a lovely introduction to himself and his beloved. He talked a little about the work he does and how he dedicates that work to God, and he wrote:

"I believe if you're in
the trades, you're a tradesman
If you're in the trades and use your head, you're a craftsman.
And if you're in the trades, use your head and work with your heart, you are an
artist."

It has been such a pleasure to work with Joseph and Glenda. They are kind and gentle people who describe themselves as Soul Mates. Twin Flames.

With their rings in hand, Joseph wrote:

"The arrival of the rings was much anticipated and we were
elated to see the beautiful work and craftsmanship that went into them. We
absolutely LOVE THEM and feel that they are a perfect representation of
not only our personalities but also the delicacy and care needed for the rings
is a beautiful reminder of the mindfulness and care needed for a
long and happy marriage. We look forward to wearing our rings on our
special day and enjoying their deep symbolism for years to come.

We want to thank you and David for the time and care that
you both took in helping us design the rings.
We also greatly appreciate the frequent updates and the final
unveiling photos. We truly felt that we were a part of the entire
process. Warmest wishes and many thanks, Joe and Glenda"